Two-thirds of Commission staff out on strike 1

Governance | Kirsty Weakley | 30 Nov 2011

Two-thirds of the Charity Commission’s 370 employees are taking part in today’s public sector strike action.

The Commission told civilsociety.co.uk that in Liverpool 84 per cent of its staff are out on strike, 54 per cent in Taunton and 42 per cent in London. In Newport all six staff in the Wales office have left the premises to join the industrial action.

Yesterday the Commission announced that its contact centre, which provides advice over the phone, would be closed for the day due to the strike action.

A statement on the Commission’s website says that much of the information provided can be obtained online and that the centre would be, “open as usual on Thursday 1 December”.

The offices in Liverpool, Taunton and London are all open and in yesterday's statement the Commission said it had "contingency plans in place to manage reduced staffing".

Public sector unions called a national strike over government plans to reform public sector pensions. In England 58 per cent of state schools are closed and in Scotland only 30 out of 2,700 council-run schools are open. In Wales 80 per cent of state schools are closed.

Directory: Charity Commission

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Kenneth Fontana
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30 Nov 2011

I think that those on strike have shown that they are more interested in their own narrow self interest than they are in the service they work for or the community as a whole.
Those teachers on strike are sending a message to the children that they too are juveniles with grievances rather than professionals.
Why should the hard pressed tax payer be responsible for the unfunded pensions of public sector employees who have jobs for life and a cosy pension to look forward to.
It seems to be agreed that our education system, except at the very top, is not fit for purpose and those on strike are blighting the lives of youngsters who are responsible for our future.
The principle of the above remarks also apply to other public sector employees on strike. They are self centred and selfish. HMRC is not fit for purpose, has mucked up thousands of tax payers accounts, has failed to collect some 6 billion of tax, has sent out demands to tens of thousands of taxpayers who have underpaid their tax through no fault of their own and are rude and unapologetic when their errors are challenged.
I, personally, have received over twenty different tax codes during the past eighteen months and yet my income structure has not changed since 1992 so I am speaking of personal experience.
If public sector employees do not like their employment terms, they should find other employment rather than be duped into striking by trade unions who think of nothing but themselves.
The Government should rule that strikes can only be called if over 50% of members vote in favour. By this I mean 50% of ALL members, not just those who vote.
Finally, congratulations to those public spirited souls who are working today. Your immediate reward will be the satisfaction that you are thinking of the community and not just of your self interest. This should make you feel good about yourselves and you will earn the gratitude of all of us. By this I mean the rest of the population. The views of those on strike do not matter.

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